by Claire Raye
Jack leans over the island, resting his elbow down and slipping his other hand behind my neck, he pulls me closer until our lips are nearly touching and whispers, “I’ve got something else I can call you.”
I smile against his mouth knowing exactly what he’s thinking and despite all my reservations, I know it’s what we need to do. He needs his job and I need the vineyard, and we will make this work.
I slice the tomatoes as Jack works on frying eggs and bacon, grumbling about American bacon not being as good as Australian, and we get into our regular morning debate about American coffee versus Australian.
“Our last morning like this,” Jack announces looking around the house before his eyes fall on me.
“Why do you keep reminding me?” I ask, again that lump forming in my throat at his words and my thoughts begin to swirl with all the possible scenarios.
“Because everything is going to be just fine,” he says, tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear. “And because I know you’re stressing. It’s written all over your beautiful face. It’s that love/hate thing we do, Lu.” He winks at me and my heart flutters in my chest.
We finish up breakfast and ready ourselves for the rest of the day with Jack heading off to finish up some work and me off to meet with Ellen.
We’re standing on the front porch together and Jack slips his hand in mine giving it a little squeeze.
“See you tonight for dinner?” I ask, reassuring myself that we’re still on, as that ever-present clock ticks away the minutes. Each one that passes bringing us closer to the time we sort of agreed upon.
It was more Jack’s idea than mine and since he’s way more confident about it all, I let him have his way.
“You can just stay,” I say, seemingly out of nowhere.
“But what fun would that be?” he retorts, knowing exactly what I’m talking about.
“This isn’t much fun for me,” I whine, hoping to get my way. “Or I could come with you,” I try and Jack shakes his head slowly, a firmness to his decision and I push my lip out still trying for a win.
“You keep pouting like that and I just might give in,” Jack replies, leaning down and taking my bottom lip in his teeth. “You’re a terrible distraction, Lulu.”
“You mean I might win this?” I ask, my voice teaming with excitement as I fling my arms around Jack’s neck.
“Not a chance, beautiful girl.”
He kisses me quickly and steps off the porch giving me a flick of his hand as a way of good-bye.
“Love you!” I call out and when Jack looks over his shoulder his stunning blue eyes focusing on me, I convince myself that everything will be just fine.
By the time I get back to the house everyone is already there. I’m running late since I spent most of the afternoon sorting out a bunch of housekeeping shit that I left in limbo for the last few months. I had spent so much time with Jack over the last two years; finally letting a few things go here at the vineyard. It was probably much needed.
Jack has taught me how to let things go, how to delegate better and how to take care of myself without losing what I love about the business.
Olivia runs to me the moment the door opens, throwing her arms around my waist and squeezing me.
“This is the best day ever!” she yells throwing her head back and laughing as she wraps her hand around my wrist and tugs me toward the backyard.
“Why’s that?” I question as we make our way to where I can already hear Jack and Will talking loudly about some football draft or something.
“Because Mom let us get two cakes. We never get to get two cakes,” she says bouncing up and down and now clapping her hands.
I smile at her, but I’m struggling, wondering if this is really happening and I tease her with, “Mom said you couldn’t eat the cake until tomorrow though.”
“What?” she says stopping in her tracks and then bolting out the back door screaming for Ellen.
“Would you stop riling her up!” Ellen yells from the back deck and when I appear in the doorway she glares at me. “Just because you’re anxious doesn’t mean you get to get to bring the kids with you.”
“I’m not anxious,” I insist, knowing I’m lying through my teeth.
“Whatever,” she replies and starts to round everyone up pushing them to the table that is already set for everyone to start eating.
If it wasn’t for Ellen I don’t know how this would have all come together this quickly. Our parents arrived yesterday and Jack’s came in a few days ago. They always said they wanted to visit, and they made it just in time.
We chat and eat, and it’s simple and quiet and calming. It’s just what I hoped it would be and when the night starts to wind down, I’m once again overcome with emotion.
I choke back the tears, not wanting to cry in front of everyone, especially the twins. The questions will fly out of them like water from a tap and if they see me upset they’ll think something is wrong. That’s not at all the message I want to convey to them.
Ellen gives Will a slight tip of her head and he gathers up the kids and we all head back through the house.
“Say good-bye to Jack,” Ellen tells Oscar and Olivia and in their usual flourish, they cling to him, laughing and demanding he pick them up.
It’s never a short good-bye and this one is no different with Ellen and Will eventually having to peel the twins off of Jack.
After my parents share their goodbyes, hugging us both I can see the smile on my mom’s face, but I can see the worry in her eyes. She worries about me even though I’ve told her I’m going to be okay.
This is happening.
Last to leave are Jack’s parents and they’re all smiles, not a trace of nervousness shown on their faces. They haven’t seen Jack in ages and right now that’s their focus, him and his happiness.
When they’re finally gone, Jack heads into the bedroom and grabs his bag, and I take a long slow breath, reminding myself that it’s all going to be okay.
We find ourselves precisely where we were this morning with Jack pulling me into his arms and kissing me.
“Bye, baby. I love you,” Jack says, his lips next to my ear.
“I love you too,” I respond, as he slips from my arms knowing that if it isn’t quick we won’t be able to follow through with this.
I watch him walk down the steps to the waiting car, tossing his bag in the back; he climbs in and waves good-bye.
“Bye, Jack,” I say, even though I know he can’t hear me and I watch until his taillights disappear.
I can do this.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Two Years and a Bit Later…
Jack
The wait feels endless, testing my rapidly fading patience at what feels like the longest moment of my life. My feet shuffle, itching to pace but unable to. I just want this to be done already, just want it to be finished so everything is finally sorted.
“You okay?” I hear someone ask and when I turn, I catch my dad smiling at me.
I grin, nodding. “Yep, I’m good.”
Dad chuckles. “You sure, cause you kinda look like you’re shitting bricks there.”
Now it’s me laughing. “No, Dad,” I say. “I’m all good.”
“You’re allowed to be nervous, you know,” he says, elbowing me in the side.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not nervous!” I tell him. “Can’t you go find something else to do?”
Dad laughs. “Whatever, I’m going,” he says, hands up in surrender as he wanders off.
I turn to the guy standing behind me who raises an eyebrow at me, the look on his facing suggesting he can see right through my bullshit.
“Don’t you start,” I murmur.
But despite my charade, there’s a small part of me that is nervous about all of this. Not about doing it, just about…I don’t know, wanting it to be done already. Finalized, sorted, set in stone so nothing can undo it.
The past few years have been filled with so many changes, some o
f them very unexpected and some of them desperately wanted. But none of them compare to the change I’m about to make today.
“Showtime,” I hear my dad mutter as somewhere, some music starts to play.
I take a deep breath, before turning to quite literally, face the music. Next to me, Will catches my eye, grinning because apparently, he too, can see that I’m full of shit.
I subtly flip him off and he chuckles before nodding to the end of the drive and the car that has just stopped.
I see Oscar and Ollie climb out first, practically bouncing up and down with excitement as they jump and wave at me, huge grins on their faces as though it’s been forever since they last saw me.
Ellen soon follows, trying to get them under control, even as she glances up in my direction, as though to confirm I really am here.
I nod at her, grinning as she almost visibly exhales before turning back to the car.
Lu comes next and despite her claims yesterday that she wasn’t anxious, that she believed me when I said everything would all be okay, I watch as she lets out a long, slow breath, her whole body relaxing when her eyes meet mine.
I wink at her and she smiles, and that’s all it takes for my nerves to disappear.
I watch as Oscar practically runs toward me, Ollie desperately trying to slow him down by grabbing his arm. He ignores her though and when he reaches me, we go through the same handshake routine we’ve been doing for the past two years, before he heads over to stand beside his dad.
Ollie soon follows, her cheeks blushing a little as she walks up to me and I crouch down and wait for her. I give her a hug before she moves to the other side and waits for her mum.
When Ellen reaches us, she gives Will a quick smile before turning back to me and murmuring, “Guess I don’t have to cut your balls off after all.”
I chuckle. “Please, my balls are strictly reserved for your sister,” I say, leaning in to kiss her cheek as she shakes her head at me.
And then it’s Lu.
Walking toward me on her Dad’s arm. She’s dressed in a simple white dress, nothing like the monstrosity she set fire to two years ago. This one’s strapless, her bare shoulders covered with nothing but her long blonde hair and she looks fucking beautiful.
“Hey Lulu,” I say, when she finally reaches me, taking her hand in mine as I press a kiss to her cheek. “You okay.”
She exhales, the shaky, “Yes,” barely audible as her fingers squeeze mine.
I don’t remember much about the ceremony. Not until the end when, with her hands in mine, and a ring firmly placed on her finger, the celebrant finally tells me I can kiss my wife.
I pull her into my arms, dipping her backward and kissing her hard on the mouth as all around us, I hear the sounds of our family and friends, cheering and clapping.
Many of them have come from Australia, my parents and other relatives included. Everyone making the journey all this way to help celebrate something that’s been over sixteen years in the making. It’s great to see them all and as much as I miss the country I grew up in, I know that this, right here, is exactly where I want to be.
“You believe me now,” I whisper, our foreheads touching.
Lu chuckles. “I do,” she says, smiling up at me. “But thank you for last night,” she adds. “You didn’t need to do that, but I loved it, so thank you.”
Last night…
After I’d left, taking an Uber into Napa and checking into a hotel, I’d called her, knowing she’d be back at our place freaking out. As much as I know she believed me when I told her I wasn’t going anywhere, that I’d absolutely be showing up today, I knew that past hurt still lingered. That it would be impossible for her to picture this day without remembering what happened last time.
We’d chatted for an hour or so, but when we eventually said goodbye, I realized I didn’t care about us not seeing each other the night before we got married. What did it matter? So, I’d called another Uber and gone back home, sliding into bed beside her as she lay awake, staring up at the ceiling.
She’d been surprised, but I knew it had been the right call when she turned into me, her head resting on my chest and finally drifted off to sleep. I’d woken early this morning, confident this whole not seeing each other before we got married thing was total bullshit as I rolled her beneath me. But then she kicked me out, refusing to let me have my way with her.
“Come on, baby,” I’d said, sliding my hand up her body. “One last shag before we’re married.”
“No,” she’d replied firmly, hands against my chest. “Out, quick, before anyone sees you,” she’d added, pushing me out of bed.
I grin at her. “You’ve always been a terrible liar Lulu Somerville.”
She pinches my side. “Lulu Wilson now,” she says, before kissing me again.
We go for photos in the grounds of Apple Jacks, the orchard and cider house I now own. I’d bought this place not long after I saw it driving back from Napa one afternoon, the day that fuckhead ex-fiancé of Lu’s had walked in and tried to get her back.
Seeing this place for sale that day had started an idea in my head. It wasn’t wine making and I’ll admit, I’m new to the whole brewing thing, but I had a great team behind me and I still got plenty of opportunities to make wine at Somerville’s.
So I’d gone for it and this became the other half of my plan to convince Lu that staying here with her was something I was very serious about.
It had taken the better part of the last eighteen months to get it up and running and even though we didn’t open for another month, having our wedding here felt like the perfect way to get things started.
Afterward, we all move into the newly created tasting rooms for the reception. A band is playing music from the eighties and people are already dancing, others laughing over drinks as we walk into the room.
It’s informal and relaxed, exactly the way we wanted it to be and we both move around the room talking to all the people who’ve come to share this moment with us.
Sometime toward the end of the night though, I lean over and whisper in Lu’s ear, “Come with me,” pulling her over to the doors leading out to the back.
We walk down the steps from the balcony overlooking the fields of fruit trees and over to the boundary line, the fence that separates Apple Jacks and Somerville’s.
“We should take this down,” Lu says, running a hand along the fence.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing,” I tell her. “Cause you’re really stuck with me now, Lu, you know that right?”
Lu turns to face me, her arms slipping around my waist as she steps closer. “Good,” she replies.
I lean down to kiss her, the two of us alone in the dark, surrounded by nothing but rows of apple trees and grape vines. “So, you gonna tell me where we’re going?” I ask, referring to the honeymoon we leave for tomorrow afternoon. I’d let her decide where it was, not caring about anything except the fact that it would be just the two of us, alone somewhere.
She grins, excited about whatever it is she’s planned. “Nope,” she says, and I haven’t the heart to tell her I know she’s taking me back to Australia, the email alert I got reminding me of my upcoming flight to Sydney ruining the surprise.
It’ll only be the second time I’ve gone back since I got here two years ago. The last trip a quick four-day thing so I could pack up my house and get things squared away. Lu hadn’t come with me and I know she struggled while I was gone, wondering if I’d change my mind and never come back.
This time though, we’re both going and it’s going to be Lu’s first trip Down Under. But I know that’s not the reason she’s done this. A small part of her still worries that I’ll miss living there now I’ve committed to being here with her.
And I will, but I know we’ll go back there from time to time and in any case, I’ve made a life here now, a life with her that I wouldn’t give up for anything.
“Okay,” I say, feigning ignorance as I lean in to k
iss her again. “How about we sneak off and go have sex somewhere then, really christen this place?”
Lu bursts out laughing. “Of course you’re thinking about sex,” she says, swatting my chest.
“What?” I ask. “It’s been so long since we have, baby,” I whine.
Lu shakes her head at me. “It’s been twenty-four hours, Jack,” she says, the smile not leaving her face.
“Twenty-four hours too long,” I tell her.
A cheer rings out from the reception and Lu glances over. “Come on, we should go back,” she says, grabbing my hand.
I pout, pulling her back to me. “This whole getting married thing better not mean the sex stops,” I say.
“Oh Jack,” she says, pushing up on her toes and kissing me. “You know I only married you for the sex, don’t you?”
I grin, smacking her on the arse as I say, “Yeah and I only married you for the green card.”
She laughs now, her mouth once again finding mine. I pull her closer, deepening the kiss as she melts into me. “Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s go do it.”
She smiles, lips against mine. “Fine,” she says. “But you better order me some more Tim Tams,” she adds.
Now it’s me laughing. “Oh and now the real reason you married me comes out!”
Lu winks, her fingers weaving with mine as she pulls me further into the darkness, an enticing look in her eye and a cheeky grin on her face.
“They were always my biggest weakness,” she says. “And the love of my life.”
“I know what you mean, baby…”
I know what you mean.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to our readers. We appreciate you more than we can express, but we’re eternally grateful to anyone who reads our books, leaves reviews, or contacts us.
To our husbands, thank you for being hilarious and always giving us material. But beyond that, thank you for supporting our crazy dreams. We love you.